1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a system, apparatus and method used to record certain information on an area of unexposed x-ray film and thereby permanently marking the x-ray. More specifically the invention relates to a card which is so devised that certain patient information as well as information regarding the facility and site where x-rays were taken can be recorded onto the card.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Flash marking systems known to the art normally insure the ability of the doctor or technician to permanantly flash imprint information onto an area of unexposed x-ray film. The flash marking apparatus used to imprint x-ray film has been in use for some time and is an improvement on the older system of using lead letters superimposed on the x-ray to imprint the information. An index card, whereupon has been written the x-ray facility of doctor's name, the x-ray facilities' address as well as the patient's name, the serial number of the x-ray and the date of the x-rays is used for the process. The card is inserted into the flash mechanism so that the box holding the patient information is directly over the window area of the flasher. Light is passed thru the card and onto the x-ray film in an area of the film that has been protected from radiation in a `blocked area`. Imprinting the information on the x-rays by use of a flash marking system, was found to be much quicker and overall less expensive due to the reduction of man hours required. However, the traditional index card that has been used in the flashing of x-ray film has been limited in that the card is imprinted on only one side, therefore one entire card was used for each patient. Thus in accordance with the present invention it is an object to provide a new and improved method for multiple use of the imprinting card for imprinting on x-rays. In addition to the increased information that each card will hold there is an eccentrically punched hole in each card which allows for the easy stacking and storing of multiple cards. It is moreover a specific object of the present invention to provide for a simplified lower cost card that will imprint multiple x-rays and will be easy to handle and store.